For Your Love
by Kristall
Summary: For a long time, Shan Feng has loved Tasuki without realizing it. When her love is discovered, she must choose between the man she loves...or remaining a goddess. COMPLETE!
1. A Wayward Goddess

For Your Love

By: Kristall

Disclaimer: No, I do not own FY. If I did, I would be very much richer than I am now, and married to Tasuki. I do own Shan Feng (means "precious phoenix bird" in Chinese) and the plot. If the plot is similar to anyone else's plot, I swear I came up with this on my own, and I do not know that your story exists. I hope that you enjoy the story, it's my second fic. Cheers!

Chapter 1: A Wayward Goddess

She was a wondrous being, with perfect features and clear green eyes. Her brown hair fell down to her knees, in two elaborate braids that started as poufs of hair. When she had it loose, her hair fell past her feet. Her lips were a rosy color, and when she smiled, her even, pearly-white teeth were revealed. However, right now, she was in a seated position, floating in mid-air, lips pressed into a thin line, and she was absolutely furious with the man in front of her.

Again she glared at him, but he made no response. She was about to huff and go away when finally he spoke. "If you leave, I _will_ have to punish you. It's bad enough that you've intervened in a mortal's affairs, but to walk out on your creator with out leave is something that can not be forgiven under any circumstances." She finally lost her patience with him.

"Why is that you four gods always act so high and mighty? You could at least thank me for saving the life of one of your seishi!" She finally calmed down and again sat before him, having jumped up in frustration. She had really done it this time. Bad enough that she had interfered with mortals' affairs that should have been none of her concern, but to openly criticize her creator?

She'd be lucky if Suzaku didn't destroy her all together.

Suzaku sighed and finally raised his eyes to look at her. She was the closest thing he had to a daughter, and yet he sometimes regretted having allowed her to have a will of her own, rather than just having her as a puppet. No other god had allowed their creations their own will. The other gods had told him no good would come out of it, and now they had been proved somewhat right. He sighed. "Shan Feng, I do appreciate the fact that you saved Tasuki, and that you held back until it was clear he would not make it by himself. However, until a seishi has been called to his mission to protect his Miko, that seishi is supposed to live out his, or her, life without any interference from the gods, and is supposed to be left alone after his, or her, mission has been fulfilled."

Shan Feng nodded. "I accept your explanation, and I am ready to face whatever punishment you have selected for me." She bowed to her creator.

"You are not to be punished." Her head flew up and she looked at him with astonishment. She knew that this was the first time since the world formed that a subordinate to the gods had not been punished for interfering in mortals' affairs. Suzaku laughed at her expression and nodded. "Yes, it is true that you will not be punished. Or at least, it won't seem like a punishment for you." She got a worried look on her face. "I have chosen something that you would like to do, but every other god views it as one of the worse punishments on the planet. You are to go to Taiitsukun for training with her new pupil, Chichiri."

"You mean that I will be allowed to meet another of your seishi? Master, I…" She stopped suddenly at his warning look, and immediately adopted a much more humble and rejected look. Suzaku had looked at her sternly, and just in time too. The other gods, Seiryu, Byakko, and Genbu, all appeared a second later. "What have you decreed as her punishment, Suzaku?" Seiryu grinned as he asked his question. If Suzaku didn't hand out a suitable punishment, the others could force him to eliminate the goddess bowing before them. Suzaku was too attached to the girl anyway. Seiryu's grin faded as Suzaku lifted his head to look at his brethren angrily.

"This time, she _has_ gone too far. I am sending her to Taiitsukun for training. She is to work with her new pupil, a mortal." The other gods were astonished, and pleased that Suzaku had chosen this as the girl's punishment. They turned to the girl again as Suzaku spoke to her in a hard voice. "Look up at me." Shan Feng looked up, the proper amount of horror, resentment, and fear on her face. If she did not play her part well, the others would find out and force Suzaku to destroy her. Suzaku went on, rising from his seat. "You have heard your punishment for what you have done. Get your things, and be off. Taiitsukun knows you are coming. I trust you have learned your lesson?"

"Yes, my lord." She bowed low to him, sounding and looking like she was very much ashamed of herself and wished she were somewhere else. "I will leave at once." With another bow, she had left the room. Seiryu and the other gods left as well, and Suzaku sighed. He teleported to Taiitsukun.

"Aaaiiiiii!" Chichiri, an eighteen year old, ran behind a pillar. He had only come to Taiitsukun a month before, and was still not used to people suddenly popping out of nowhere in front of him. When he saw who it was though, he dropped to his knee. "How may your humble servant serve you?"

"I am merely looking for Taiitsukun. Where is she?" He felt her behind him even before she spoke.

"Right behind you, as you should know by now. I take it you have met my pupil?"

"Of course. I have other things to discuss though. My goddess, Shan Feng, is coming to train under you for a while. She should be here momentarily." Taiitsukun nodded and asked why she was coming, and on such short notice too. "She interfered with a mortal, but it was Tasuki, and he would not have made it without her help. However, you know what my brethren are like. They have wanted to see me punish Shan Feng for quite some time now."

"And so they get their wish, without you really having to give in. I always thought you were clever. I believe she is here now." Sure enough, Shan Feng popped up and sent Chichiri off running, screaming at the top of his lungs. "I see I am going to have to accustom that boy to teleportation. For some reason, the fear of people appearing out of nowhere wears off when one has the same ability. Shan Feng, follow Lai Lai. She will show you your room." Shan Feng walked after the small goddess, but looked over her shoulder at her master once more. He nodded his approval and his blessing. Then he was gone.

Shan Feng stayed until Chichiri left, which was three years later. She had learned a lot, and was now quite powerful. She returned to her home, but found that she was bored. She began looking at the earth again, longing for some sort of excitement in her life. It wasn't long before she went down again, but this time, she did not interfere. She returned several more times, but never tried to get involved. People never noticed her, until one night when she spotted some bandits headed her way. She swung herself into the trees and settled herself on a branch. She expected the bandits to pass by her, and then she could leave. Unfortunately, they decided to set up camp for the night right under the group of trees she was hiding in. She carefully scooted back, so that she was able to lean against the trunk, and watched.

Unfortunately for her, she couldn't see everything. One of the bandits motioned to another, and pointed at the young girl he had seen in the tree. Before Shan Feng knew what was happening, the second bandit had climbed up behind her and pushed her out of the tree. She landed with a thud in front of a group of about thirty bandits. She looked up in fear. There was no way she could get out without a fight, and that would get her a severe punishment for sure.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Looks like a spy to me."

"I'm not a spy. I'm just a wandering traveler. Please, let me go." She looked around in real fear, and gasped as one of the bandits stepped towards her. She backed away, right into another bandit, who quickly caught her arms. The others laughed, and the leader of the group came up to her. She trembled, and turned her head as he stroked her cheek. Then she suddenly caught sight of a younger bandit behind him. She gasped as she took in the fiery red hair, a fang poking over his lower lip, and the all too familiar necklaces and earrings. It was Tasuki!


	2. In the Bandits' Lair

For Your Love

By: Kristall

Disclaimer: I love the manga, anime, and the characters, but no, I still don't own them. Shan Feng is mine though!

Chapter 2: In the Bandits' Lair

Shan Feng was glad that she had taken time to disguise herself as a mortal. She knew that if they had caught her in her usual attire, she would not have left their camp until she had submitted to every last one of them. The thought made her shudder, which was noticed by the leader. He motioned for the bandit to release her and showed her to the fire. "Here, child, warm yourself. It is a bit chilly out tonight." One of the men whispered that he wouldn't mind warming her up himself, but was silenced by the leader. "Even if her clothes are torn and ragged, I can still tell she is a Lady. None of you are to touch her." "But Boss…" "No buts. I'll guard her myself if I have to. Do I make myself clear?" The men nodded, and soon settled down for the night. Tasuki and the Boss stayed up though, talking to Shan Feng. They were trying to get her to accept their protection until she reached her home.

"I really do appreciate the offer, but I dare not accept. I have to leave at once; otherwise my father will worry about me." She meant Suzaku when she said 'her father', but there was no need for them to know that. Tasuki was especially hard to convince.

"It's dangerous out here ya know. Lots of other bandits and thieves. If ya stay with us, ye got a chance of not bein' pestered by someone else."

"I do appreciate your offer, but the answer is still no. If your men hadn't found me, I would have waited until you were all asleep and then left. I'll be fine on my own." She didn't add that they wouldn't be able to travel to her home anyway, since it was up in the spirit realms. That would have made it impossible for her to leave without breaking some rule. _Damn these humans! I just want to go, that's all. Still it is nice that they worry about me, even if they don't know who I am. I wonder if Tasuki remembers me._

"Did you hear what I said?" She shook her head and apologized. "I asked if you really wanted to go ahead on your own. It's actually probably safest right now. It's so late even the owls have gone to bed, and my men are all fast asleep. None of them would follow you." She smiled and nodded her thanks.

"I hope I will meet you two again someday." Tasuki snorted when his Boss stood up and bowed to her.

"It would be my honor to see you again, my Lady." She giggled and accepted his hand up. She walked to the edge of the small clearing and waved good bye. Then she turned around and vanished into the trees. Tasuki looked over at his Boss, finally allowing his frown to show. "What's the matter lad? Is yer heart achin' for her to be back?" Tasuki scowled at him.

"No Boss, it's something else. Remember that time when I was attacked, but a girl saved my life?" The Boss nodded. "I think that was her." The Boss gave him a look that clearly said 'impossible'. Tasuki shook his own head. "I must have been seeing things. That was about four years ago. Never mind. And besides, I hate wimmen." The Boss laughed as they went to their bedrolls. They both fell asleep and never saw the small flash of red light that came out of the woods as Shan Feng finally was able to go home.

Suzaku was waiting. "WHERE WERE YOU??!" Shan Feng cringed a bit. She knew that if Suzaku was shouting, she was in trouble for being so late.

"Forgive me, Master. I was traveling when I saw bandits coming towards me. I climbed a tree, but they decided to camp under where I was. They discovered me, and I had to wait until they were all asleep before I could leave." She knew what his next question would be. "Before you ask, no, they did not touch me. Their leader was a decent man. He would not let his men near me."

"Thank heaven for that. I trust that you've had enough adventure for now?" She nodded. "Then you are dismissed." She left Suzaku and went to her room. She finally went to bed and slept soundly. However, her dreams were constantly invaded by a certain red head with a mischievous glint in his eye.

three years later

Shan Feng watched as Tasuki burnt the undead that were attacking the Miko and her seishi. She had often watched the seishi, and had reported to her master when the seishi had started to gather together. Now, she was able to watch the seishi in action.

She smiled when the Miko finally summoned Suzaku to save her world from destruction, and also when she and Tamahome were finally reunited with one another. She watched as the seishi were reunited to fight against Tenko. She herself would have joined in, but she had no strength or powers, since they came from Suzaku himself, and his own power was waning. But as she watched the seishi and their Miko overcome obstacles that made them grow stronger and created a lasting bond between them, she couldn't help but feel lonely.

Having Suzaku wasn't the same as having a friend or lover. She blushed at the thought.

Unbidden, the memory of what had happened between Tasuki and Miaka came to her mind, but instead of Miaka, she was the one Tasuki held under him. Her blush intensified when she realized that she would actually be quite willing if Tasuki did that to her. _What am I THINKING? He's a mortal, I'm not. How could I possibly love...? _She gasped as the truth hit her. She loved Tasuki. That explained why she had saved him so long ago, why she had watched over him all this time. She shuddered and a tear fell down her cheek. She knew her love was forbidden. No mortal was allowed to be with an immortal being. If the other gods found out, and she was not able to fully renounce her love for him, she would be forced to give up her immortality.

Kristall: Will her love be discovered? What will she do if it is? Tune in next week for more! And while we're down here, please hit that little submit review button. I know you're reading, but I want to know what you guys think of my fic! No flames please, just guidance, ok? Later!


	3. The Love of a Goddess

For Your Love

By: Kristall

Disclaimer: I do not own FY! However, Shan and Huan are mine!

Chapter 3: The Love of a Goddess

She did try, hard, to hide her love from Suzaku and the other gods. But she should have known better. Suzaku _was_ the god of love after all. He, above all others, should have been able to tell if someone was lovesick, whether mortal or not. It wasn't long before he finally asked her what was wrong. She froze, but her thoughts betrayed her. This time Suzaku was actually livid, not just putting on an act. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! I GIVE YOU LIFE, YOUR OWN WILL, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME??!! GIVING YOUR LOVE TO A MAN WHO ISN'T EVEN WORTHY OF YOU!!" Suzaku's eyes flashed, and he grabbed her wrist. "You are coming with me. This time, you will not be forgiven." Shan Feng nodded listlessly. Now that her master knew, she didn't care what happened, as long as she could be with Tasuki. _I'd even give up my immortality to be with him._ The thought shocked her enough that she nearly fell because Suzaku continued to drag her along not noticing that she had stopped short. Suzaku gave her a mere second to recover and was then off again.

The thought stayed with her as Suzaku angrily pulled her into a room. She didn't realize that they were in Taiitsukun's palace. Taiitsukun was there, along with the other gods. Shan Feng just stared in front of her. The gods were shouting at her, demanding to know what she would do and if she would beg forgiveness. She dully looked up to find that even Suzaku was shouting at her. Finally, something inside snapped. Her eyes narrowed. Who did these gods think they were, telling her she could not love someone? What right did they have to shout at her for something that wasn't her fault? She grew angry, but only Taiitsukun, who was watching silently, noticed. "Have you even heard a word we've said?" Seiryu asked angrily. Shan Feng's head flew up.

"No, I have not been listening. Nor will I listen now. I do not have to listen to you, any of you, anymore." The shouting started up again. Very quietly, she spoke again. "I renounce my immortality." She barely spoke the words, but they crashed into the gods like a train. They stared at her, not believing what had just been said. She spoke again. "I will no longer be immortal." Suzaku was the first to snap out of it.

"Why do such a drastic thing? All you have to do is renounce your love for Tasuki. Then you can go on with your life." Suzaku said the words in a pleading tone. He still loved his daughter, even as exasperating as she was at times. She glared at him, and her eyes narrowed to slits. She looked at the god who had created her to be his daughter, and found her heart sad for him, but otherwise unmoved. Her next words were cold and shattering.

"I would rather become mortal and die than give up my love." Suzaku bowed his head while the other gods looked on in shock. Suzaku looked up a minute later, pain, hurt and admiration in his eyes. Shan Feng was startled. _He's proud of me._ She smiled sadly as the realization set in. _He's proud of me for standing up to the others for what I believe in. For what I want. _It was then that Taiitsukun finally spoke up.

"I can tell that nothing will sway you in this matter. So be it. I will take away your immortality. However, the world can be a dangerous place. I will allow you to keep your powers." Shan Feng gasped in surprise while the other gods looked at her in astonishment. "She has been a relatively well behaved girl, even if she did step over the line at times. This is even more impressive given the fact that she has her own will, and is not merely a puppet. There is no real reason to deny her the powers she has learned simply for revenge against someone brave enough to speak her mind in front of those who have hated her for her entire life."

Byakko, Genbu, and Seiryu backed down at this. They were embarrassed that their true feelings for the girl had been revealed. Shan Feng, however, was shocked. She had known that the three gods didn't like her, but hate? She looked at them, and found that she wanted to let them know that while she didn't forgive them, she would not hate them back. "You had no reason to hate me. It wasn't my decision to be created, or to have my own will. That was Suzaku's doing. I will admit that I did step over the line at times, but you must remember that I am much younger than you, and more likely to be rash. I will be praying that you forgive me for being what Suzaku made me." The other gods saw her point, and got the message. They quickly left.

Suzaku smiled at his brave girl. "Immortal or no, you will always be my beloved daughter." She finally smiled as a tear fell down her cheek. Suzaku understood that it was a tear of happiness, and gave her his blessing. Then he too left.

"Come child, we must get you ready. You will have to stay here for a little bit afterwards to recover. This will take some getting used to." Shan Feng smiled at the last remark.

"Yeah, I imagine it will. I mean, it's not everyday you get to choose your fate." Taiitsukun said nothing, but as she swept past Shan Feng, she had a small smile on her face. Taiitsukun called Lai Lai to help out with the process. She put Shan Feng into a trance and then began the incantation to make the young goddess a young girl instead.

three days later

Tasuki grinned at Kouji who was right beside him. They were watching a heavily laden carriage make its way through the forest. The carriage rolled into the clearing, and they jumped down from the trees. They landed in front of the carriage, and grinned as the rest of the group appeared from their hiding places, surrounding the carriage. "Come out of the carriage. Make no resistance, and you won't get hurt." There was a pause, and then a man fearfully climbed out of the carriage. He looked at the man who had ordered him to stop. The driver was frozen to his seat.

"What do you want with me?" The man who had climbed out of the carriage was shaking, but they all thought he was afraid. Tasuki grinned at him and gave a short laugh.

"What do you think we want? We'll start with all your money." The man gasped and shook his head. Tasuki walked up to him and placed a knife at his throat. "Tell me where the money is, or you don't live beyond this meeting." The man laughed, showing how little that bothered him.

"Do you think I'm going to live much longer anyway? Go ahead, take it all. Only leave me my daughter." Tasuki smirked. This could get fun, and he hadn't been to the pleasure houses in a while. Suddenly, the man coughed. Blood came up and ran down his chin.

"Please, grant this dying man his wish. Take care of my daughter and raise her as your own. Her name…her name is Huan Chan." Tasuki looked at him in confusion. _Raise her as my own? How young is his daughter?_ As if in reply to his thoughts, a baby's cry came from the carriage. Tasuki flung the door open to find a baby, tightly swathed, lying on the floor of the carriage in a small cradle. He turned back to the man, but Kouji shook his head. The child's father was dead. Tasuki groaned, but gently took the baby out of the carriage. He looked at the driver.

"Take him to the city and give him a decent burial. I will honor his last wish." The driver nodded, but unloaded some of the things he was carrying. "What is this stuff?"

"The babe's things; clothing and such. You will have to find someone to help you care for the child though, her mother died giving birth to her. The poor babe is only two months old." Tasuki nodded and signaled for Kouji to take the things. The rest of the men then took what was left of value, except for what the driver needed to pay for the dead man's burial. The driver then left, sending a quick prayer to Suzaku that the strange man would indeed keep his promise. Tasuki looked over at Kouji.

"Let's head into town. We need to find someone who can help us care for the kid without getting into trouble with the guys, and I need some sake. A LOT of sake." Kouji grinned. He could tell that Tasuki was already wrapped around the baby's little finger.

Fortunately, the baby stayed asleep while they went into town. Tasuki happened to know a widowed, elderly woman who would be able to show him how to care for the kid, and be able to watch the kid while he was out on a raid. This woman had taken in many orphaned children and raised them. He just hoped she would come up to the hideout. Just because he didn't know how to care properly for a baby didn't mean that he was going to let the kid live away from him. He found the hut the woman lived in and knocked.

The door opened to reveal a woman in her late forties. She looked a lot like his mother, in fact, but wasn't nearly as top heavy as his mom. She took one look at Tasuki and Kouji standing there, Tasuki holding a baby in his arms, and sighed. "Come in, come in. I might as well get the whole story from ya now." They went in and sat down, which woke the baby. She started to cry. Kouji and Tasuki sat there, helpless, while the woman got up and quickly fixed something the baby could eat. She placed it into a small jar and tied on a piece of cloth, creating a crude, but effective, bottle. She popped the cloth into the baby's mouth, and the crying stopped immediately. Tasuki and Kouji then explained what had happened. She sighed. "Let me guess, you want me to come up to your hideout, care for the baby, and show you how to do it?" Tasuki nodded. "Young man, you need a wife." The effect of her remark was instantaneous. Kouji burst out laughing while Tasuki sputtered and fumed, his face beet red. The woman was watching him with a smile. She knew how he felt about women. Perhaps this baby would do the trick.

"Alright, fine, I'll come with you. But I will not stay after I'm no longer needed, you hear?" Tasuki nodded. He hadn't expected more, and he would be able to care for his child. _Wait a minute, my child?!_ He looked at the sleeping baby. _Well, I guess so. Welcome aboard kid. You've just become the youngest member of the Mt. Reikaku Bandits!_

Kristall: grins Ok, given the info on my profile page, see if you can guess who showed up as Huan. Virtual homemade cookies (any kind) will go to the first person who gets it. Also, my update day-of-the-week has been moved to Wednesdays! Later!


	4. Newly Mortal

For Your Love

By: Kristall

A/N: I will now refer to Shan Feng as just Shan. Same person though!

Chapter 4: Newly Mortal

The same day that Tasuki wound up with a daughter, Shan finally woke up after going through the process of becoming mortal. She moaned as she squeezed her eyelids together and curled up. Then she opened her eyes. She was in a forest. Next to her were a change of clothes, a bag, some other necessities, and a note. She picked up the note and began to read.

By the time you read this, you will be on your own. I kept you as long as I could, but unless they are here to train, mortals are not allowed to remain on my mountain for a long time, as you already know. Just know that you are near Mt. Reikaku, where Tasuki resides. You must find your own place here, child. Farewell and good fortune to you. P.S. I've made you twenty years old.

Shan put the supplies into her bag and started walking down the path. She felt dizzy, and had to watch her footing as she walked along. She knew that the dizziness would wear off, but she had to move. She wished she could just walk up to the mountain hideout and ask for Tasuki, but she knew that wouldn't work. Somehow, she had to get herself into the mountain by invitation. She smiled to herself. _Well, if you think about it, getting captured and taken somewhere is like a somewhat more forceful invitation._ She looked up to see how much further she had to go. As it turned out, she didn't have to take another step. A hand came from behind her and covered her mouth, while the other grabbed her waist. She froze on the spot. "Hey Kouji, did ya catch somethin'?" She turned her face to the speaker. It was a man she didn't recognize.

"Just a little somethin' to entertain me for a while." He spoke to her next. "Now I don't wanna hear any screamin', ok? You keep quiet, and I'll treat you decently. Promise not to scream?" She nodded. The lack of air was starting to make her feel faint. Suddenly, the hand covering her mouth let go. She sagged a bit in his arms, breathing heavily. She looked up at him and saw that he was a little concerned. She smiled and then tried to step away from him. She felt a little uncomfortable with the way he was holding her. Kouji just grinned and held her even closer. "Nah-uh. You should know better than that. After all, I found you. Since I found you, I get to keep you as long as I want." He laughed seeing the fear in her eyes. The other man had long since disappeared. "Hey, I promised I wouldn't do anythin' to ya. But, I'm not gonna let you wander out here alone anymore. I'm not the only guy out here, and most aren't as decent as me." Shan finally nodded to indicate she would trust him.

They walked in the opposite direction that she had been traveling in. Shan kept on looking at him, wondering what he was planning to do to her. For all his talk of decency, he was a man, and she was a woman. Kouji just looked ahead. _Man, this is gonna be harder than I thought. She's pretty good lookin', and I am a guy after all. But if she's gonna trust me I gotta stay in control._ He sighed. This was not going to be easy, especially in the outfit she had on. While it wasn't skin tight, it did reveal the curves of her body. She was also shorter than him, and he could easily overpower her if he wanted to. He didn't know about her powers, but she would not have used them if he did attack her anyway. He sighed again and decided to get her into some more conservative clothing when they got to the hideout.

Just as they were about to step out of the trees, he laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him in confusion. "Nothin' personal, but we can't go out lookin' like this. It has to look like you tried to get away, but I managed to catch you. If we showed up walking side by side, they'd know you aren't a normal prisoner." He grinned as he moved towards her. "It'll also be easier for me to protect you if you do as I say."

"What do I need to do?" Her breath caught in her throat as he leaned in closer. He was grinning wickedly at this point.

"Struggle as hard as you can, but don't run away if you get loose. After we're all good and rumpled up, I'm gonna sling you over my shoulder. Oh yeah, and you'll be tied up, still squirming, and trying to get loose, but not hard. Understand?" She nodded and then he kissed her. She gasped and pushed him away. Kouji just grabbed her and tried again, holding onto her. They wrestled for a few minutes until Kouji suddenly tripped her. Before she could get up, he was on top of her, pinning her to the ground. Her breath caught in her throat again. Kouji hesitated, as if he wanted to do more, but then he roughly grabbed her hands. Pulling out some rope, he proceeded to tie her hands together. Then before she knew it, he had her over his shoulder and walked out of the trees.

Remembering his instructions, she tried to wriggle off of his shoulder, but he was holding her tightly enough that even if she had struggled hard, she wouldn't have escaped. Kouji, for his part, tried not to think about the fact that her breasts were pressed against his back. He waved at the guards, who grinned back. "Got a prize I see. Are ya sharing?"

"Nope, sorry. This time you'll have to get your own prize." The other two laughed and turned back to their duty. Kouji walked to his room, exchanging jokes and comments with other bandits who were in the halls. He opened the door, walked inside, and shut the door behind him. Finally, he walked over to the bed and set her down on it. She jumped as he untied her hands and then sat down next to her. "What's your name, missy? You should know mine by now, so it's only fair I get to know yours."

"My name's Shan." He looked her over, and this time she noticed. She flinched, and tried to move away, but he just flipped her on the bed. She could barely breathe, and just as Kouji kissed her, she realized how strong he was. "W-Wh-What are you doing?!" Kouji had grabbed her wrists and held them to either side of her head. He kissed her again and let go of one wrist. He started to stroke her waist when he heard the sound of footsteps outside the door. He sat up, but the footsteps continued on. However, by the time he had turned back to Shan, she was not on the bed, but against the wall staring at him. He sighed, realizing that he had just destroyed much of the trust she had had in him.

He stood up, causing her to shrink away from him, but he only went over to the chest and pulled out some sheets. Silently, he walked over to the futon and made up another bed. He stood back and gestured for her to choose one. She chose the bed, and he walked over to the futon. Her eyes did not leave him the entire time. He started to pull off his boots when he caught her expression. He sighed, and kicked himself. "Sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I just couldn't help it." Shan looked at him, obviously wondering what had happened to make him loose control like that. Kouji gave her a rueful grin. "I'm a guy, just like any other. Normally, I can control my feelings, but there are times when you can't control what you feel. This was one of those times."

To his surprise, Shan smiled at him. "I know what you mean, about not being able to control your feelings. I know it all too well." She stood up and offered her hand. "Tell you what. I'll forget what you did, if you'll not press me about what I mean." She could see him considering the offer. If he accepted, a potentially painful topic for her would be avoided, at least for the time being. If he decided to press her though, he could loose her trust in him entirely. His mind was made up.

"Deal." They shook on it, and suddenly, a baby started to cry. Shan ran out the door, looking for the baby, while Kouji ran out after her to keep the guys off of her. Somehow, they made it to the kitchens, where Tasuki was watching the baby hopelessly while it bawled on the floor. An older woman was busy mixing together something for the baby to eat, since the baby couldn't have any real food yet, just liquids. Shan took one look at the situation, walked over, and picked up the baby. The crying stopped at once, and the relieved bandits looked up to see who their unexpected savior was. Tasuki grinned sheepishly.

"Thanks fer gettin' the kid quiet. I don't know how to do this sort of thing." Shan smiled at him and then went back to cooing at the baby. The baby made happy sounding noises back. "By the way, how'd you get in here?" Shan sweatdropped but Kouji stepped in for her, saving her from having to answer.

"I picked her up on the late raid. Didn't know she'd be helpful with the kid though. Perhaps you'd like to keep her, you know, to let you get some sleep?" Tasuki nodded at his friend, and then turned to see how she'd react. She was staring at him as if she had seen a ghost. The woman gestured for the baby, and Shan handed her over. Then, without a word, she fled the kitchens. Tasuki told Kouji to stay behind. Then he followed Shan out the door.

The race ended at the top of the hideout. Shan was breathing heavily when she heard Tasuki coming up behind her. He sat down next to her, causing her to gasp and pull away from him. He sighed. "I just wanted to ask ya why ya looked at me like that. We haven't even met."

"I'm sorry; it's just that I…I once knew someone who looked like you. What's your name?"

"Genrou, but some people call me Tasuki. Am I the one you thought of?"

"No, it was someone else. I'm sorry; you just startled me, that's all."

"Did this guy hurt you in some way?"

"No. I don't want to go into it, if you don't mind." She changed the subject quickly.

"Where's the baby's mother?"

"Dead, along with the father. I just adopted her today; it was the father's dying wish. She's named Huan Chan."

"Pretty name. Speaking of names, my name is Shan."

"Shan what?"

"Just Shan." She stood up. "We should probably go back inside. They might be looking for us." Tasuki agreed and stood up as well. They went back to the kitchens, to find that the baby was asleep. Tasuki watched as Shan took the baby, and then led her to a room. "There's a door that opens from this room to mine. If you need anything, give me a holler." She thanked him, and went inside. There was a fire in the fireplace, and a small cradle close to the large bed. What she didn't know was that Tasuki had given her his room, and taken the adjoining one for his own. He knew that it was a small sacrifice for the child.

The next day, Tasuki woke up to find it was nearly midday. He groaned to himself when he realized that the baby was probably starving and got out of bed to find that the baby's crib was missing. _Did I miss something here?_ Then memories started to come back. Kouji had brought in a new girl. She had agreed to help care for the baby to give him a break. He had been exhausted last night after spending most of the afternoon trying to figure out why the baby wouldn't stop crying, and had fallen asleep almost immediately after laying down. He grinned to himself. The guys had probably let him sleep in on purpose.

He wondered how the baby was doing with the new girl. He then realized that he needed to go to his room to change. He tapped on the door softly, just in case. A quiet "come in" told him that he could enter, but the baby was napping. He eased the door open and shut before he saw the room's occupants. He couldn't help but smile at the scene before him. Shan was sitting in a rocking chair, holding the baby, while the baby had fisted one hand in Shan's dress. He looked at Shan expectantly.

"She ate a good breakfast this morning." Shan told him quietly. "She got fussy afterwards, so I brought her back here and rocked her to sleep. I hope we didn't wake you." Tasuki shook his head.

"No, I woke up on my own. I need to change though." He grinned as Shan hastily stood up, trying to not wake the baby while she was at it. He walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "There's no rush. I can wait until you set her down, or you could close your eyes." He smirked at the last bit.

Shan blushed. "I think I can put her down now. I don't really want to be here while you're changing." She walked over to the crib and set the baby down. She would have left then, but strong arms hugged her from behind before she could move away from the crib. Tasuki rested his head on her shoulder.

"Thanks for helping out. Babies take more effort than I thought." Shan nodded as he released her, and she left the room. Tasuki was left standing beside the crib, a puzzled look on his face. Why did she seem so familiar to him?

several months later

Shan sighed as she yet again picked up the baby's spoon. The woman had left after a month of teaching Tasuki and herself how to properly care for a baby. The baby, thankfully, was now eight months old and able to eat solid foods. She had two teeth, and they had all learned to keep their fingers away from Huan's mouth. Tasuki smiled at the sight of Shan feeding the baby. _She is going to be a great mother someday._ He shook his head, and was surprised at his feelings on the matter. _Why'd I want to even THINK about her havin' kids. They'd probably all be brats. Well, maybe not if they were mine as well, but…AHH! Why'd I think THAT?!_ Tasuki abruptly got up and said he needed to check on something. Shan looked up puzzled. Tasuki had been doing that a lot lately, and it was only when she was taking care of the baby.

Kouji, on the other hand, was amused. Shan had told him she had been banished from her home because she had fallen in love with the wrong man. He wondered who she had fallen in love with. _It's got to be one of us. She hasn't tried to leave at all since I brought her here. It would be hilarious if it were Tasuki. Speaking of Tasuki, I wonder if he's realized he's falling in love with her?_ Kouji shook with silent mirth, and went after his friend. It was time to do a bit of digging.


	5. Practice and Revelations

For Your Love

By: Kristall

Chapter 5: Practice and Revelations

Kouji found his friend kneeling by the river near the hideout. The water was icy cold, but Tasuki was scooping it up and washing his face and neck. Kouji walked over and grinned. "I thought that the river was cold this time of year. What are you doing washing up?"

"Of course the river's cold, which is the entire point. I needed to wake myself up a bit, and cold water's the best way to do that." Tasuki stood up, and grinned back at his friend. "Let's get back. The kid's probably asleep now. Besides, I want to see if Shan can handle a sword. I've heard rumors that there's a band of thieves roaming around. Our hideout would be a prime target." Kouji understood what Tasuki meant. If the thieves came to the hideout, Tasuki wanted to be sure that Shan could protect herself and the baby.

Shan was surprised by Tasuki's question, but inwardly she smiled. This was a chance for her to get Tasuki to herself, and it helped that she could truthfully answer that she had never used a sword in her life. She did not add that she had powers that would make sword fighting seem like child's play. Tasuki told her to meet him the next morning, while the baby was napping, on the training grounds.

The next morning, at ten, Shan was waiting on one of the benches. She had been there for five minutes and was starting to get bored. However, a dagger suddenly flew past her and landed in the ground in front of her. Shan didn't waste time by watching the dagger. She rolled away from it as it went past her ear and landed on her feet, looking up to see where the weapon had come from. Tasuki was in the entryway, grinning at her. "Good to see your reflexes are in working order. That makes it easier to wield a sword."

"Then give me a sword and teach me what I need to know!" Tasuki laughed. He had been hoping to get her mad and impatient. It was a lot easier to mess with her in that mood, as he had found out. For some reason, he loved to drive her up the wall. Knowing that he was driving her up the wall on purpose only served to infuriate her more. This often led to interesting situations, like the time she had chased him to his room, and refused to back down until he had been forced to pin her to the bed. Kouji had walked in on them and nearly choked as he saw, or thought he saw, Tasuki about to have his way with Shan. It had taken a lot of explaining to convince Kouji otherwise.

_It's payback time. I won't let you come out on top. Plus, there's the small matter of me wanting to…ARRGH! Quit thinking about that and teach her how to fight!_ Tasuki showed her how to hold the sword properly and block an attack. She spent all morning doing just blocking, but they were interrupted at noon by Kouji coming out with a crying baby. "I think she's hungry." Kouji said the words dryly; there was no mistaking Huan's 'I'm hungry, feed me already!' cry. Shan dropped the sword she was holding and would have run to grab the baby, if the sword hadn't landed hilt down. The blade came up and cut into Shan's arm before she realized what was happening.

"Uh, Kouji, I think you're gonna have to handle it this time. I'll come and tell ya what to fix, but my arm…"

"Needs treatment and we happen to have some bandages in the kitchen." Tasuki finished the sentence for her. "Come on then. We'll get you fixed up, but I don't want you holding the baby until your arm's healed." Shan started to protest, but Tasuki cut her off. "No buts. I don't want you to hurt your arm even more, clear?" His voice left little room for argument. Shan nodded her head, and then they went inside.

Tasuki settled Shan on a stool by the stove and went to get the bandages. Shan was telling Kouji what to do to prepare a small bit of lunch for the baby. Tasuki came back and, sitting down on another stool, proceeded to clean Shan's arm. Fortunately the cut, while long, was shallow and would not leave a mark. He knew that the bandages were still a good idea though; it would not do for the cut to get infected.

Kouji had finished the baby's meal and looked over at Shan and Tasuki. He couldn't help but grin at the sight of the great Tasuki fretting over an injured woman. Then he noticed that Shan was blushing a bit, and that the blush got a little deeper as Tasuki wound the bandage up her arm. She looked away as Tasuki tied off the bandage just under her elbow and noticed Kouji's amused look. He looked away a moment later, and she decided not to mention it. There was a baby to feed after all. She followed the two guys into the dining room and sat down to watch as Tasuki fed the baby. He was actually pretty good at spooning the food into the baby's mouth and catching dribbles of juice that rolled down Huan's chin. Kouji still looked amused by something, but she couldn't tell what.

After lunch, Kouji decided to try to find out more about the guy Shan had fallen for. He found her on the balcony and walked over. "Whatcha doing out here?" Shan started, but smiled when she saw who it was.

"Just thinking."

"What are ya thinking about? Your man?" Kouji meant it as a joke, but was taken aback when she turned to him.

"Kouji, I need to ask you something, and I need for you to not repeat it. Can you do that?"

"Depends on what it is."

"It's about Tasuki." Kouji's eyes widened, but he nodded to show that she could go on. "Do you think that he will ever fall in love? Do you think it's possible for him to love someone?"

Kouji nodded at her, suspecting where this was going. "I know it's possible for him to love someone. He loves many people already. Now, if you're asking about romantically falling in love with a woman, I'd say that if the right one came along, he'd fall head over heels for her." Shan sighed. "Why do you ask?"

Shan was startled. "I…well, I…I just wanted to know." Kouji looked at her skeptically. She blushed. "Ok, so I wanted to know if he liked me! Happy now?" She turned away to look out over the forest again. Kouji smiled as his suspicions were confirmed. He went over and hugged Shan.

"I'm not positive, but I think you have a chance. He's the one you fell in love with, isn't he?" Shan nodded. Kouji smiled down at her. "Just give him time. You probably know what he's like by now. Take things at his pace, otherwise you'll scare him off. Got that?" Shan nodded and went inside, thanking him before she left.

Kouji grinned to himself. Now he knew that the two liked each other, and were interested in the other, or at least he was pretty sure. He still needed to get Tasuki to confess his feelings towards her before he could do any serious matchmaking. He chuckled to himself. _Since when have I played the matchmaker?_ He knew that he would enjoy setting up Tasuki and Shan though. Even if it was only from the challenge of actually getting them to admit to the other how they felt. Kouji sighed and went in to find Tasuki standing in his doorway. Tasuki had never moved back into his old room.

"Where've you been?"

"I went for a walk. Why? Is there a crisis with the baby?"

"No, it's not that. It's just that…can I talk to ya? With a bottle of sake?" Tasuki's face had turned a little pink, which surprised Kouji, but he hid his amusement with a grin.

"Anytime sake's involved, you can count me in." Tasuki held up a bottle and Kouji followed him into his room. "Is the baby napping?" Tasuki nodded.

"Shan's asleep too, so keep it quiet." Kouji nodded.

"Now then, what's all this about?"


	6. Kouji's Plans

For Your Love

By: Kristall

Disclaimer: Don't own, so don't sue. Besides, I have no money, so you'd never get paid. There's a reason why you never sue poor people.

Chapter 6: Kouji's Plans

Tasuki seemed more interested in drinking the sake than answering Kouji's question. Kouji huffed at this and poured out a bowl for himself. Apparently, Tasuki needed to loosen up a little, with help, before he was ready or willing to talk. After drinking half the bottle, Tasuki's tongue had finally loosened up enough that he could tell Kouji what was on his mind.

"Remember when Shan first came here?" Kouji nodded. "At first, I was just grateful that there was another person who could care for the kid, and show me how to do the same. I never intended for Shan to stay. But then, as time went on, she started to…I don't know. It's like she's an angel, taking care of the kid so much while I attend to my duties as leader here. You know what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I think that's how most of the guys here view her. I know for a fact that after she managed to calm Huan down at supper and also managed to feed her without the food going everywhere, the guys think that she's special. To them, she's the one who can keep the peace around here, and they know how un-peaceful it could have been."

Tasuki grinned sheepishly. "Shan would make a great mother; she's so good with the baby. But I can't…I don't want to think of her with some other guy." Kouji's eyes widened at this admission. "What do you think, huh? Would I have a chance to be with her? To win her heart?" Kouji grinned.

"I don't _think_ that you would have a chance with her." Tasuki sighed heavily. "I KNOW you have a good chance with her." Tasuki looked at Kouji, his face filled with hope. "Just take things at your own pace. If she's willing to be with you, she won't mind." Tasuki grinned at Kouji.

"Thanks man. You want the rest of this?" Kouji shook his head and left. Tasuki took his time in finishing the bottle. He knew that one bottle wouldn't hurt, especially if he paced himself. He decided to check on Shan and the baby. He opened the door just a bit, enough so that he could see the two of them on the bed, still fast asleep. He slid inside the room, eased the door shut, and then made his way over to the sleeping pair. He picked his daughter up, once again marveling at how even though she was so much bigger than she had been, she was still so small. He gently laid Huan down in the crib, and then turned around to find that Shan had started awake. He sat down on the bed next to her.

"Bad dreams?" He asked the question, even though it was obvious as to what had awoken her. She nodded. "Lie back down. I'll even rub your back if you want." Her eyes showed both her surprise and her skepticism. "I know how demanding caring for the baby must be. I just want to thank you somehow for your help. That's all." Shan put her head back down, and shifted so that she was on her stomach. She fell asleep as she thought _Man, this feels good. I wonder if he'd do it more often._

Tasuki smiled as he realized that she was asleep. Gently, he eased himself off the bed and went to his own room, feeling content for the first time in a while. He knew that he would not be sending Shan away after all she had done for him, especially given how he felt about her. He flopped down in his chair and was soon asleep. Kouji had been keeping an eye on them, and decided to let them go at their own pace for now. However, if things started to drag too much, he would be more than happy to step in and speed things up.

Kristall: Hey everyone! I'm sorry that I didn't update last week, but my finals are coming up, and I have been majorly stressed out lately. However, I am doing a double update to make up for it! Later!


	7. Getting to Know You

For Your Love

By: Kristall

Disclaimer: See any of the previous chapters and paste your favorite disclaimer here. They all say the same thing.

Chapter 7: Getting to Know You

Shan felt warmth all around her. She rolled onto her back, aware as she did so that her neck was supported and she seemed to be confined somehow. Opening her eyes, she started at what the simple action revealed to her. Tasuki had moved onto the bed with her, and was now holding her in his arms. She blushed and tried to free herself, only to have him pull her even closer. Now her arms were pinned to her sides, and she found her face pressed into his chest. This made her face burn with all of the blood rushing to her cheeks. It also made it somewhat hard to breathe. She managed to get her hands up to his chest, giving her better leverage, and pushed away just enough for her to get a deep breath. She heard Tasuki chuckle.

"You know, all you had to do was ask." The voice came out husky with sleep. She pouted and playfully whacked him on the arm, only to have him grab her hand. He moved it up, over her head, and smirked at her.

The next thing she knew was that Tasuki had shifted so that he was straddling her waist with both of her hands pinned above her head. Her breath caught as he leaned down and kissed her. She gladly returned the kiss, amazed that Tasuki would be so forward with her when suddenly…

She was rudely awoken by the baby's shrill cry. Tasuki came running in, collided with a chair in his path, and yet managed to get over to the crib to pick up his daughter before Shan even got out of bed. Shan watched as Huan threw her little arms around Tasuki's neck in a hug. She then made little cooing noises like a dove, which Tasuki imitated. Huan squealed with laughter and hugged Tasuki even harder. He hugged her back, and turned so that he could grin at Shan. _Time to find out a little more about her._ He grimaced. _That is, after Huan gets a diaper change._

Shan changed the diaper as Tasuki changed the shirt Huan had managed to mess up. Shan looked at the nearly full laundry basket, knowing that she should wash out the diapers after this so that there would be clean ones available. Huan also had little clothes that needed to be washed. Tasuki caught her glance and knew what she was thinking. "Hey, it's really nice out. Would you mind if Huan and I kept you company while you do the laundry?"

"Not at all, as long as you watch Huan. I can't wash and watch at the same time, you know." She smiled at him as he picked up a now freshly changed and clothed baby. "You lead the way, Tasuki."

"Genrou."

"What?"

"Call me Genrou. Everyone else here does." Shan was speechless. She could hardly believe her ears. She knew that he was called Genrou only by the bandits, and that he was not really interested in letting others call him that, especially women.

They walked out to the washing area of the river. The river made a wide turn, and the very edge of the outer curve was calm and still enough for washing laundry with out it floating away. Shan had cleaned half of the diapers when Tasuki spoke up.

"How do you like it here?" Shan glanced at him, curious as to why he would ask, before answering.

"It's really nice. I really like it here, and your men are the nicest I've ever met. I also love that we're in the woods; it seems so peaceful. At least until the guys get a party going that is." She grinned to herself as she thought: _And you're here. And Huan, too. I feel like her mother sometimes._ She almost missed Tasuki's next question.

"Don't you ever want to go out?"

"What do you mean?" Shan was now genuinely puzzled as to where he was going with this game of 20 questions.

"Don't you want to find the man you love? The one you were banished from your home for loving?" Shan stiffened at this, but then a bandit came running up.

"Genrou! The monk's here and he wants to see the kid!"

"I'll be right there!" Genrou seemed happy that the monk, whomever he was, had come. He stood up with Huan in his hands, and then looked down at Shan. "I still want an answer."

Shan gulped, and then looked back at him, right in the eye. "I've already found him." Tasuki longed to know who, but he had to go see his friend. He turned to go inside, only to see Kouji walking out with the monk. Shan turned too, and then went pale.

"Chichiri!"

Whispered, and yet Tasuki heard the surprise, and the fear, in the single word. Chichiri looked at the young lady kneeling behind Tasuki and his jaw dropped.

"Shan Feng? What are you doing here, no da?!"

Kristall: Bet you saw that one coming. And yes, "The King and I" was running through my head when I thought of the title for this. Also, no one's tried to guess which member of my family has made a guest appearance in this fic! pouts I'd definately like to see if any of you can guess, and you can check out my profile for a hint. Later!


	8. Reunion of Friends

For Your Love

By: Kristall

Author's Note: My eternal apologies for how late this chapter is! I last updated right before I finished the semester, and I don't get Internet access when I'm at home! But I'm back with another chapter, so sit back and enjoy!

Chapter 8: Reunion of Friends

Shan couldn't help it. She dropped the dress she was washing, got to her feet, and ran for the hideout. She was kicking herself inside for not thinking of this sooner. Of course, as a good friend of Tasuki's, Chichiri would have come over eventually. She was stupid to think that he wouldn't. And now, he was going to tell Tasuki everything: who she was, where she was from, why she was there. She couldn't face Tasuki after that. She ran into her room and locked both doors. She went to her chest and started yanking out clothes. She didn't realize that Chichiri had teleported into the room until he grabbed her by the shoulders. "Shan Feng you have got to calm down, no da! Tasuki and Kouji are wondering what's wrong, and Huan started crying when you ran off, no da! What's the matter with you, no da? And why are you here at all, no da?"

Shan finally calmed do at Chichiri's last question. "You mean, you don't know why I'm here?"

"No." Chichiri's voice became more serious, and he dropped the 'no da'. "I had no idea you were even here until I saw you. I did feel your chi, but it was so long since I last saw you I didn't recognize it." His voice became happier. "It's been six years since we last met, na no da."

"Six years…" Shan's voice was quiet. "I had no idea it was that long."

"So, what are you doing here, no da? I promised Tasuki I'd make sure that you were ok, no da. Is anything bothering you, no da?"

"Chichiri, I've been living with the bandits for six months now. They may not realize it, but it was my choice to come here. I just had to arrange for my capture to get in. Since then, I've stayed, even though I've been offered the freedom of leaving whenever I want."

"Why'd they offer you that, no da? Not to seem rude or anything, but bandits don't go around letting their captives go unless it's for a good reason you know. What was your reason, no da?"

Shan smiled at him in a sad way. "They were willing to let me go to find the man I fell in love with."

Chichiri's mask fell off, and his voice became serious, but conveyed his shock as well. "YOU fell in love with someone? A mortal?!" Shan nodded.

"Please, don't tell Tasuki and the others who I am, or rather, who I was."

"What do you mean, who you were? You're still Shan Feng, aren't you?"

"Yes, but I only go by Shan now." She took a deep breath. "When I was found out, I renounced my status rather than give up my feelings." She glanced at him, eyes flashing for the briefest moment. _They are listening outside the door. I don't want Tasuki to know exactly who I am just yet._ Her eyes pleaded with Chichiri, asking for his silence for now.

"So when will you tell him how you feel?"

"I don't know. I rather suspect that Kouji has something in mind, just in case I don't tell him, but I'm not certain." There was a pause, which made Tasuki and Kouji press even harder against the door. "What are you planning, Chichiri?"

"Oh, nothing." Chichiri's voice had taken on that innocent tone that didn't sound innocent at all.

"I know you're plotting something."

"Well, if you really want to know…" And the door crashed open, sending Tasuki and Kouji to the floor. "I was trying to think of a way to let these two know that it's not polite to eavesdrop on people having a private conversation."

Shan grinned as Tasuki and Kouji sat up. "So, how much did you hear?" At least they had the decency to look sheepish at this point.

"We heard from the point when Chichiri asked if you were still Shan Feng. Is that your real name?" Kouji got a whack from Tasuki when he told Shan this.

"Yes."

"Pretty name. Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Kouji's voice was now amused. Tasuki was obviously trying to get Kouji to shut up, worried that going on might make Shan mad. Shan almost laughed.

"I had my reasons. Now then, is Chichiri coming here a cause for celebration?" Tasuki and Kouji nodded, both starting to grin. "OK! I'm going to go and start cooking!" This got a cheer from Tasuki and Kouji as Shan left the room. Chichiri was puzzled.

"Is Shan a good cook, na no da?"

Tasuki answered him. "If you haven't tasted Shan's cooking, then you don't know what a real meal tastes like. Come on! We've got some catching up to do!"

Chichiri pushed away from the table with a satisfied "DA!" of contentment. Tasuki, Kouji, and the other bandits had finally gotten around to the sake, sitting around and talking. Shan, to give her credit, was keeping out of sight, not wanting to disturb Tasuki and Chichiri as they caught up on what had happened since the last time Chichiri had visited. Fortunately, for Tasuki at least, Huan started crying. It was well past her bedtime. Shan came hurrying and picked her up.

"Are you going to put her to bed?" Tasuki liked to come along, to say goodnight and get a hug before Huan went to sleep. Shan nodded. "I'm coming. Chichiri, you come too. Or you can stay here and risk losing your reputation as a monk."

"I think I'll go to bed myself, but I want to see where Huan stays. I'll come." Chichiri was grinning, as well as Tasuki. Chichiri getting drunk enough to ruin his reputation while he was at the hideout was a running joke between the two friends. Chichiri was surprised to see that they were in Tasuki's room.

"I gave this room to Shan when she first came here, so she could take better care of the kid." Tasuki's voice was quiet, enough so that Chichiri looked at him. He was surprised to find Tasuki watching as Shan got out a nightdress for Huan and dressed her for bed. Shan turned, and Chichiri saw the faint blush that crept over her cheeks when she saw Tasuki looking at her. Chichiri grinned to himself. He was starting to get an idea of just who it was that Shan liked. He grinned openly as Tasuki hugged his daughter.

Chichiri's confusion returned as Tasuki lead him to the next room over, which was obviously now Tasuki's room. Chichiri sat down. "Ok, this time I'm confused enough to need some sake." Tasuki grinned and poured two bowls, one for each of them. Chichiri sipped his and sighed. "Ok, what is going on here? Last time I was here, you would go for a boat ride before you would let a girl live here." Tasuki grinned at his friend.

"Last time you were here, I didn't need a girl around to help me with a baby."

"True enough. So has she changed your mind about girls?"

Tasuki laughed. "Not quite. She's great, but I still think that girls in general are a pain. Then again, if anyone lived with my ma and sisters, you couldn't really blame them if they wound up a woman hater for their next three lives."

Chichiri chuckled. He had stayed with Tasuki at his childhood home for a week back before they had gone up against Tenko. He knew that the women of that household had picked on Tasuki quite a bit, but at the same time, he knew that there were actually no hard feelings, beyond severe annoyance, on either side. In fact, Tasuki would never admit it, but there were times when he'd go home in order to get some sparring in.

"How long have you known Shan, Chiri?"

"A while, but I never though I would be seeing her again. We met shortly after the flood that took my entire village." For once, Tasuki did the smart thing and didn't bring up Chichiri's former fiancé. "We went our separate ways after a while, and I haven't seen her since. Why?"

"She likes you, doesn't she?"

"WHAT?!"

"Well, the way she looked at you when you showed up, and I heard her say your name too. What am I supposed to think? And keep it down would ya? Huan's asleep."

"Tasuki, she and I were nothing more than friends." Tasuki let out an audible sigh of relief at this. "Why so relieved?"

"I…it's just that…I don't know. I want to know if she likes me, and I've been havin' some weird thoughts about her ever since she showed how good she was with Huan. There are times when I'm tempted to ask her if she wants to be Huan's mom, but that would mean that I'd have to marry her, and I don't know if I want to be married or not."

"You mean, you wouldn't mind being married to Shan?" Chichiri said this very quietly, so that Shan wouldn't wake up and hear. He also knew that Shan, Huan, Tasuki, and he were the only ones on this level; all the other bandits, even Kouji, had passed out downstairs. Tasuki grinned ruefully.

"No, I wouldn't." The words came out sounding puzzled, as if Tasuki couldn't believe what he was saying. Then again, he didn't believe what he was saying. He looked over at Chichiri, expecting to see a grin or laugh twitching at the corners of his mouth. To Tasuki's surprise, he only saw a genuine smile on Chichiri's face. The mask had been discarded a long time ago.

"Then you should tell her."

"But what if she doesn't want to be with me like that? What if she doesn't want to be with me?" Tasuki looked imploringly at his friend. Chichiri understood completely. The fear of rejection, the hesitation to ask, the worry that it might come out the wrong way; so many things that could hurt a guy's feelings, and yet all it took was four simple words to find out if a girl would return your feelings.

"I know how you feel. I felt the same way when I asked the girl I loved to marry me." Chichiri's eye closed in remembrance. "I was so scared that she would say no, even though I knew that she really liked me. You just have to wing it sometimes, and know that your buddies will be there for you no matter what Shan says."

Tasuki smiled at him, thankful that Chichiri had helped him out. "Thanks man." Chichiri grinned back.

"No problem. I'm going to bed. See ya in the morning, na no da!" The mask went back on, and Chichiri closed the door behind him. Tasuki sat there, staring at the door, and then went to bed himself.


	9. Plotting Together

For Your Love

By: Kristall

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything of FY.

Chapter 9: Plotting Together

Chichiri had trouble going to sleep that night. The next morning, he did the one thing he knew that could possibly calm his mind. He arranged himself comfortably and started to meditate. He took the dizzying chain of events that had led to Tasuki's confession to him last night and looked at them. Searching for the clues that he might have overlooked. Things that he had seen, and things he had been told over dinner last night. He started seeing them immediately. Tasuki's narrative, interrupted by Kouji as always here and there, had told him everything he needed to know. That, combined with Shan's reaction to his questioning her yesterday, and Tasuki's almost jealous question. _"She likes you, doesn't she?"_ Chichiri grinned to himself.

He could see now, how it had happened. It had been so gradual that Tasuki hadn't even realized what had happened. Tasuki had at first only been relieved that someone would be there to give him a break when he got tired of the baby. Then, Shan had taken over some of the nastier things, like diaper changes and the baby's dirty laundry, in addition to the things that would traditionally be considered a woman's job, even though men were more than capable of doing them, such as cooking and rocking the baby to sleep.

By that time, Tasuki had started to see Shan more as a friend than just an extra hand. Then, as Shan continued to show the inexhaustible patience that she was more than capable of when she wanted, she had won her way to Tasuki's heart by _acting_ like a mother to Huan. He was half surprised to not hear Huan calling Shan "mama" or something along those lines. He wondered about that.

"I asked her not to call me that." Chichiri snapped his head up in surprise. Shan was in the doorway, and had obviously been listening in on his thoughts for a while. Her smile was as unrepentant as ever. "Tasuki asked me to look for you. He's downstairs feeding Huan right now."

Chichiri smiled as her stood. "This is something I've got to see." He adjusted his kasa around him and left the room following Shan down the hall. He could tell from her aura that she was getting happier with every step. "Looking forward to seeing Tasuki?"

Shan stopped dead so suddenly that he had to sidestep in order to not run into her. "What did you say?" Her voice was low, cautious, and deadly. He knew that she was afraid of what he would say, but he could tell that wasn't all.

"If I offend you, I did not mean it. I know what happened to you, you told me yourself. The only thing you didn't tell me was who you loved. After this morning's meditation session, I realized that there were enough clues in what both you and Tasuki told me to figure out what is going on. But, I will not tell anyone. That is for you to do." He turned and continued on his way down the hall. "Now, if I miss this, I'm not going to be happy." Shan laughed and hurried to catch up.

Chichiri grinned as he walked into the dining room, fully amused by the sight of Tasuki holding an eight month old baby in his lap and spoon feeding it. He sat down, and Shan came up to the table with a tray. On the tray was two bowls of porridge, a plate of toast, and two jugs that turned out to be peach juice. Shan had made the juice herself, and had been rather pleased when the first batch she made, a month's supply, had run out in one day. Shan grinned at Chichiri as she served both him and Tasuki.

"Give her to me, Tasuki. You need to eat." Tasuki grinned at her.

"What about you?" He was already obeying her as he asked.

"I happen to know how to eat one handed. You don't. Eat." They looked at each other and then they both cracked up. Chichiri and Kouji both grinned as they watched. Chichiri caught Kouji's eye and gave him a wink that said they'd talk later while Tasuki and Shan were both occupied elsewhere. Kouji returned the wink with a small nod.

After breakfast, Tasuki offered to watch the baby while Shan got in some sewing that she had wanted to do for a while. The baby needed new clothes, and Shan had some simple, practical, and yet subtly feminine designs that were perfect for a growing baby. Huan was already trying out walking, but it would be a while before she was able to walk on her own. One of Huan's favorite games was to stand on Tasuki's feet, her small hands in his large ones, while he walked around, carefully taking small steps to make sure Huan didn't fall off. Chichiri and Kouji seized the opportunity to get together and plot.

"First of all, I know how they feel about each other. Believe it or not, they both confessed that they like the other to me. So, you have anything new?" Kouji wasted no time getting to the meat of the challenge facing them. Chichiri grinned.

"Oh, I've got new stuff all right. Tasuki's been thinking of asking Shan to be Huan's mother. The _only_ thing keeping him from doing so is that if she were Huan's mother, she would have to be married to Tasuki. He's scared to death of what she'll say."

"Little knowing that she would probably knock him over in a fit of being the happiest woman in the world. So what are we going to do?" Kouji glanced at Chichiri, who seemed to be lost in thought. "Chichiri?"

Chichiri gave himself a mental shake. "Leave Shan to me. I know her better than anyone here, and I know how to get her to do things without her catching on. At least, not at first." He grinned at Kouji. "And, I'll be able to handle her best after she realizes what is going on, if she does catch on. You'll take care of Tasuki, right?" Kouji nodded, a grin on his face now. "Ok, here's the plan. You get Tasuki to that spot where Shan does the laundry for the baby when she's doing the laundry. Get him in the best ready to take on anything in the world mood you can. I'll handle the rest." Kouji nodded, understanding that Tasuki was not to go there until Shan was there washing clothes. He knew that his part was going to be easy. He said a quick prayer for Chichiri and went to find Tasuki, thinking that he had never known that the monk was crazy enough to try to toy with Shan.

Chichiri found Shan still altering Huan's clothing. He sighed, and then put on his most cheerful, well, face. "Whatchya doing, no da?"

Shan looked up to see Chichiri peering down at her. She smiled at him. "I'm letting down the hems of these dresses so that they'll be long enough for Huan."

"How do you do that?" His voice was overly cheerful, and a hint of annoyance crossed over Shan. She really just wanted to be left alone, and what did men need to know about sewing anyways? But, since Chichiri seemed to be so interested, she decided to answer his question.

"I made the dresses too big for Huan, and then folded up the hems to make them short enough for her."

"Why didn't you make them the right size?"

"I made them bigger on purpose."

"But why, when you knew that they'd be too big?"

Shan was starting to glare at him now. "So that I could eventually let the hems down when Huan got bigger."

Chichiri "Ahhed" in comprehension, and then wrinkled his nose. "It smells funny in here, na no da."

"I don't smell anything." Shan was seriously getting annoyed by now. Why wouldn't this interfering monk just leave her in peace?

"I smell it. It seems to be coming from the pile of laundry." He muttered a quick spell so that some of the laundry did get dirty. Some of the _clean_ laundry.

"CHICHIRI! Look at what you did!" Shan actually jumped out of her chair, livid. _Perfect,_ Chichiri thought to himself. _Now I just have to get out of here alive._

"Sorry, no da! I was just trying to remove the smell! I didn't mean for this to happen, no da!"

"Just get out of my sight! Now I'll have to clean these all over again!"

Chichiri fled the room and headed straight for Kouji and Tasuki. They looked up at him just in time for him to run into both of them. They all fell in one big heap. "Ow! Chiri, watch where yer goin'! Who's got ya on the run in the first place, eh?" Tasuki was not happy to have landed on the bottom.

"Shan, no da." Chichiri helped Kouji and Tasuki up as he spoke. "She's mad because I was trying to help her and said the wrong spell."

"You want me to try and calm her down some?" Tasuki was looking at Chichiri with concern written all over his face. The bandits all knew that Shan was capable of beating up a guy if he got her really mad, which Chichiri had just done.

"Thanks, no da. She's by the river, cleaning the mess I made, no da. But she was almost livid when I left. I'd be careful if I were you, na no da."

Tasuki looked at him as if it couldn't be that bad. "I'll see what I can do. Catch ya later!" The last sentence was thrown over his shoulder. Chichiri stared after him, and then turned to Kouji.

"Do I want to know how you got him this confident?"

"Let's just say it involved two bottles of sake and some small talk."

"I don't want to know." They settled against the tree next to them.

"I wonder how long we'll have to wait."

"Not long, if I know those two." Suddenly shouting was heard from the direction in which Tasuki had headed. Chichiri smiled. "See? I told you it wouldn't be long."

Kouji nodded. "I just hope that Tasuki makes it out of this encounter with Shan alive."

Chichiri frowned. "He'll do fine against Shan, but I just sensed something. We need to get back indoors. Grabbing Kouji, the two men disappeared.

Kristall: What did Chichiri sense?

Kouji: You're writing this. You should know.

Kristall: Quiet, I was just about to do the end. Ahem. What did Chichiri sense? Find out next time!

Kouji: Did she actually say that?

Kristall: Yeah, I know. It's corny.

I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! (And a little review would be nice!)


	10. Mystery Revealed

For Your Love

By: Kristall

Disclaimer: I don't own FY. Period.

Chapter 10: Mystery Revealed

Shan was furiously washing the clothes that Chichiri had soiled when she heard footsteps behind her. She paid no attention to the person, but continued to scrub away at the stains. Finally she was forced to give up as her scrubbing just made the stains worse. She was going to hunt down Chichiri and make him clean the clothes. She jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder, and spun around to find Tasuki there. She furiously swatted his hand away and demanded to know what he was doing and where Huan was.

"Huan is napping in her room, and a couple of the bandits are keeping an ear out for her. I heard that you were here, and that you were fuming. What happened?"

Shan couldn't take it. "THAT BLOODY MONK RUINED THESE CLOTHES THAT I _WAS_ ALTERING FOR HUAN! BUT NOW THEY CAN'T EVEN BE WORN THANKS TO THE BLOODY STAINS!" She let her fury out by shouting the words at Tasuki. He was just standing there, letting her vent her fury. He knew that it wasn't directed directly at him, and that to try to calm her down now would be almost like a death wish. Shan continued ranting for a few minutes, and then suddenly stopped. She looked around as if she was trying to spot something she had heard.

"What's up?"

Shan only glanced at him. "Get to the hideout. Now." Tasuki stared at her. He had never heard that tone of voice from a girl, save for once: that time nine years before when a girl had saved his life. The tone that that girl had used matched Shan's voice now.

Tasuki didn't move. "I asked what was up." Shan took a calming breath.

"I'll tell you later. Now ge…DOWN!" She tackled him to the ground as two arrows flew through the air where his neck had been an instant before. She was back up instantly, putting herself between Tasuki and the place that the arrows had come from. She could now feel the sinister intent behind these attackers as she took a defensive stance. She was preparing an attack even as she shouted at Tasuki again. "GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!" Tasuki heard the desperation in her voice, but instead of running like she told him to, he moved to her side.

"I'm not going to leave you here alone."

"You fool; they want you, not me. I'd have a better chance if you ran." _And you would not see what I'm about to do._ The last she could only think in her mind without giving him a clue about her past. But then it was too late. Their attackers rushed them from the trees, and Shan had no more time to think. She gathered her life force and sent a blast towards the bandits on her left. She could feel her perception fading, focused only on the attackers. Faintly, she felt Chichiri holding Tasuki back. Then an arrow found its way to Tasuki's side, making him cry out in pain.

_TASUKI!_ Chichiri caught Shan's anguished mental cry and quickly threw up a barrier around him and Tasuki. He was just in time to prevent them from getting hit by a stray hit from Shan, but he could tell that Shan had matured since he had last seen her. She sent her life force directly at the bandits, blinding Chichiri and forcing him to turn his head. When the force of the blast had died down, he looked around. Shan was fighting the few bandits that had managed to escape her attack. He knew Tasuki was watching as well, an awed and fearful look on his face. Small wonder there. Shan was not fighting with any weapons but using chi blasts. Chichiri kept the barrier up, knowing that Shan was only on the brink of control, and that if she lost it, he and Tasuki could very well fall victim to her. Finally, one last blast took out the last bandit, but Chichiri could sense the last of Shan's reserves leave her with the blast. She collapsed. Chichiri let down his barrier just as Kouji reached them. "GENROU!"

"Take him back to the hideout. He needs that arrow pulled out, but he'll be ok. I'll bring Shan." It was then that the newcomer noticed the crumpled heap in the meadow.

"What happened here?"

"Later." Chichiri stood up with Shan cradled in his arms. "Right now, Shan needs rest and treatment that only I can give her." Kouji looked up at him questioningly. "Chi transfer. I am the only one here who knows how to do it." Kouji nodded and turned away with Tasuki to lead them back to the hideout.

Tasuki winced with pain as he settled himself on the chair in Shan's room. The arrow had been pulled out of his side and he had been bandaged. Now he watched as Chichiri transferred his life force to Shan. "Give her some of mine too, Chiri." Chichiri didn't acknowledge Tasuki, but he could tell that his request had been granted as he felt some of his strength leave him.

"That's enough for now." Chichiri sat back, worn out by the process.

"What was up with her? Where'd she learn those attacks? I thought that only celestial warriors knew how to use their life force to attack."

"You're wrong. There is another group of beings that know how to use their life force to attack. Shan comes from that group, or at least she did." Chichiri started as Shan shifted just then. Tasuki forgot everything, including his wound, as he stood up quickly and was forced to bite back a curse as the pain of moving too quickly forced him back into the chair. Shan opened her eyes.

"Chi…chiri? Tasuki?" Tasuki stood up more slowly this time and walked over to the bed. Huan was carried in by Kouji at that moment. Huan made it clear that she wanted to be put down on the bed. "Let her." Huan, once on the bed, crawled over to Shan and gave Shan a hug, bringing smiles to every adult in the room. "Have you been a good girl, Huan?" The baby gurgled and started babbling away, obviously telling them what she had been up to. Tasuki frowned though. Shan's voice sounded too quiet, too weak. It sounded like she was dying.

"Shan, what happened? I felt your life force leave you, but you're still here. How is that possible? You…should be dead!" Chichiri had caught himself before he gave away her secret, but there was no denying it. Shan had actually died out there on that field. The fact that she had stayed alive long enough to go though with the chi transfer was in itself a miracle. The fact that she was now obviously going to recover was even more miraculous. But Shan had given up her immortality. How had she survived?

"I know, Chichiri. I myself don't know what happened. I just know that I'm here now." Shan looked at Huan, and then at Tasuki. "But I sure am glad to be back."

Tasuki sat down on the bed beside Shan and pulled her against him. "Why did you do something so stupid?" Shan looked at him, startled by the tone of his voice. He was mostly annoyed with her, but she caught the undercurrents of fear, worry, and pride in his voice. She rested her forehead against his shoulder and sighed.

"I did it to protect you." Tasuki grabbed his shoulders, pulled her away from him, and stared at her in surprise. She gave him a sad smile. "Those bandits were from the same group as the ones who tried to kill you nine years ago. They wanted you dead because they didn't want you passing on their secrets to any other bandit groups."

"How'd you know about that? I've never told anyone, not even Kouji."

"The leader had you cornered. He told his men that no deserter would ever live to tell their secrets. Then he ordered them to kill you."

A dead silence filled the room. Tasuki could only stare at Shan, while Kouji and Chichiri were looking back and forth between the two. Even Huan was quiet, but she crawled into Shan's lap and sat there happily. Finally, Tasuki found his voice.

"It…it was you, wasn't it. The one who saved my life back then." Tasuki could remember the girl clearly now. Brown hair, green eyes, a determination that could rival that of his priestess, and he had been blind. He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. "I never did get to thank you."

"Don't worry about it. Then, like now, I fought to save you. The fact that you are still alive is thanks enough for me."

"Uhh, I don't mean to rain on your little romantic moment, but you do realize that we're still here, right?" Shan and Tasuki froze as Kouji spoke up. Shan turned away blushing, and Tasuki stood up again. Chichiri decided to speak up and fill the awkward silence in the room.

"But how did you survive?"

"It was due to the nature of the process that she went through to come here." Kouji, who had never seen Taiitsukun before, jumped and landed on Chichiri's shoulders in chibi form, screaming. Ignoring Kouji, Taiitsukun turned to Shan. "I take it you never told them?" Kouji stopped screaming.

"Chichiri knows, of course, but not Tasuki or Kouji."

"You need to tell them." Shan looked at her in shock. "Otherwise, I will not explain how you survived." Shan looked at Tasuki, and then down at Huan, who was trying to get Taiitsukun to pick her up so that she could play with the ribbon that floated around Taiitsukun's shoulders.

"As you wish."

Kristall: I've always wanted to see Kouji screaming!

Kouji: That was mean and you know it!

Taiitsukun: Leave her alone, she is trying to write the next chapter.

Kouji: *runs off screaming again*

Kristall: Please review, and I'll see ya in the next chappie! Later!

A/N: OMG I am so sorry! I thought I had finished this ages ago, only to check today and realize I hadn't! I am going to finish this for anyone who still wants to read this and learn how it ends! Again, SORRY!


	11. Confession

For Your Love

By: Kristall

Disclaimer: No, still don't own FY.

Chapter 11: Confession

Shan could feel the five pairs of eyes staring at her, and looked at each one of them. Taiitsukun was looking at her expectantly, and with a hint of annoyance. Chichiri was looking at her with concern, pride, and sympathy in his eyes. Kouji and Tasuki were looking at her with a mixture of surprise and wonder. And Huan, bless her little heart, was looking like she wanted to know what was going on, but still wanted to play with that ever-so-tempting ribbon that floated out of her reach. She sighed.

"I did not mean to tell you this until I felt ready, but the time when I should have told you is long gone now. You know that I was banished from my home for falling in love with the wrong man, right?" Tasuki and Kouji nodded, while Chichiri sat on the bed next to her and gripped her shoulder to give her support. "I should have said that I fell in love with the wrong _type_ of man."

"You mean like a bandit?" Kouji grinned at her, only to lose his grin when she shook her head.

"No. Someone even worse, in the eyes of my people. I fell in love with…with a…a…mortal." Two blank looks met her gaze. It was Tasuki who spoke up first.

"How could you _not_ fall in love with a mortal? Everyone's mortal. Aren't they?" Shan smiled sadly at him

"No Tasuki, there are others who are not mortal. There are immortals in this universe." She sighed again and looked at the floor. "I was one of them."

"You mean to tell us that you're a goddess?" Kouji's voice told her just how much he and Tasuki believed her, which was not at all.

"NO. I said I _was_ an immortal. Now, though, I am only mortal. I chose to give up my immortality rather than be forced to give up my love." Tasuki looked at Chichiri.

"Did you know any of this?" He and Kouji both were shocked when Chichiri nodded.

"I told you, Tasuki, that I met Shan shortly after my village was destroyed in the flood." Tasuki nodded, remembering their conversation. "To be more exact, I met her a month after I began my training under Taiitsukun. She had been sent there to make it seem like she was being punished for saving the life of one of her master's seishi." Chichiri grinned as Tasuki gulped. "That seishi was you."

"Shan, did you know that you would be punished?" She nodded. "Then why'd you do it?" Tasuki jerked back at the look on Shan's face as she finally looked up. In her face, he saw the mixture of fondness, pride, and love that she felt for him.

"I had no other choice. My feelings would not let me leave you there." She smiled ruefully. "I loved you even then, but didn't realize that I loved you until a year ago."

"Hold on a sec! You mean to say that…you mean that I'm the one you…"

Shan laughed a little as she spoke. "Yes silly. I fell in love with you."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"And risk being driven out? Run the risk of you pushing me away? I couldn't do that. I knew that you didn't like girls, and that you would refuse to speak to one who walked willingly into your grasp. And even after I found out about Huan, I was still scared of what you would say." She looked at him, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "I was so afraid that even after all I had been through, you wouldn't want me."

Shan would have gone on, but Tasuki pulled her into his embrace, effectively cutting her off. "Well, I guess I can't argue with your reasons. After all, I am known for saying that I hate women." He smiled down at her, wiping her tears away. "But you shoulda known that I've changed. And," he smirked at her. "Anyone who's been as much help with Huan as you would not be turned away no matter how you felt about me or how I felt about you." Shan bit back a cry and threw her arms around Tasuki. The force of her action sent both of them toppling off the bed. Kouji moved out of the way, and Huan had been picked up a little earlier by Taiitsukun so that she could play with the ribbon.

"Now that you've got that settled, I will tell you how you survived out in the meadow." Shan and Tasuki froze. She was on top of him, they were both hugging each other, and they had completely forgotten that they had an audience.

Shan looked up sheepishly, to find Kouji and Chichiri grinning at them, and Huan was looking down at them to asses any damage Shan had done to her father. Taiitsukun had a smug smile in her face, but the smile disappeared as she started her explanation. "When you fought in the meadow, you used up all of your life force. Normally you _would_ have died. However, I used an extra spell when I took your immortality away from you that was not actually part of the process. That spell allowed you to return to your original state if you died to protect Tasuki."

Shan could only stare at Taiitsukun. She knew that the creator of all things had always been fond of her, but to go so far as to protect her without being asked to or expected to? Shan humbly bowed to Taiitsukun. "Thank you."

"I wasn't finished. There is now a problem that needs to be dealt with. You are once again an immortal being. Therefore, unless you are willing to go through the process all over again, you will have to give up the love that you have just confessed to."

Shan gasped while Tasuki started. He looked at Shan, worried about what she would do. Now that she had a chance to go back to her home, why would she stay here? She couldn't love him that much, could she? He was startled to find her smiling at him. He bowed his head, knowing that she would leave him now.

"I want to stay."

"That's alright Shan, I underst…WHAT?" Shan laughed at him.

"I said that I want to stay here." Huan was gently handed to her. "I belong here. Huan…Huan thinks of me as her 'Mama'. I couldn't leave you or her. Ever." Tasuki smiled his relief as he gathered both Shan and Huan in his arms.

"Then, the three of us will be a family." Kouji and Chichiri were grinning, expecting Tasuki to propose at any moment, but Taiitsukun interrupted the mood.

"Well then, if you are sure, I will need to perform the spell on Shan again. Would you three please leave the room?" The men started to protest when Shan spoke up.

"Would you please? I know that you want to stay with me, but…uh, well…" The men were startled to see the she was blushing quite obviously. "Well, you guys are men, and I, well, I have to…I have to undress for this, ok?" The last bit came out in a rush, but the guys understood every word of it. They felt their faces turning red, and Chichiri said a small prayer of thanks to Suzaku that he had his mask on. The men got a promise that they would be summoned as soon as the whole thing was over and then trooped out of the room. Shan turned to face Taiitsukun.

"Lie down on the bed once you are ready, and we will begin. I will also tell Tasuki and Chichiri how to take care of you until you wake up." Shan was lying on the bed by now, her eyes closed. Two Nyan Nyans popped out of nowhere, one to assist Taiitsukun while the other one kept Huan happily occupied. Taiitsukun closed her eyes and then started, yet again, the process that would make Shan mortal.

Kristall: Another chappie done! I hope you review, I love having review alerts pop up in my email account. They make my day! See you in the next chappie!


	12. Chapter 12

For You Love

By: Kristall

Chapter 12: Proposal

Shan was still lying in bed, completely unaware of what was going on around her. Tasuki couldn't help but worry about her. It had been nearly four days since Shan had once again become mortal. Tasuki shook his head yet again, unable to understand just why someone like Shan would fall for him. Sure, he did have a cute daughter that anyone would fall in love with (in fact, most of the bandits kept on spoiling the girl with little treats), but if he had understood Shan correctly, she had fallen in love with him long before his daughter had come into the picture. _What did she see in me?_ The question kept on repeating itself in his mind, over and over again, and he could not find the answer.

Chichiri poked his head in and sighed. "Is she still out?" Tasuki, deep in thought, hadn't even heard the door open and fell backwards in his chair when Chichiri startled him. Chair and bandit landed on the floor with a loud THUD, and Tasuki glared at Chichiri. "Chiri, don't scare me like that!" He went on to rant and rave at the monk, not noticing that Shan had moaned softly. Chichiri noticed, however, and went over to kneel by the bed. "Are you even listening to me? Pay…" Tasuki finally noticed that Shan was starting to move her hand and hurried to sit on the bed beside her. Shan scrunched up her eyes and then slowly opened them to find Tasuki and Chichiri beside her. She smiled.

"I must have been out of it for a while." Tasuki looked like he was about to cry. "What's wrong, Tasuki?"

"Nothing." His voice was rough with emotion as he pulled Shan to him and embraced her. She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. "Everything's fine now." Tasuki looked for Chichiri, only to realize that the monk had left the room to give them some time alone.

Shan stayed in bed after she woke up only because Tasuki wanted her to. She was fine for the rest of the day, but by the next morning she was bored to the point of getting up despite the fact that all the guys thought she should stay in bed for at least a week. She got up and pulled her clothes on. Then she went out of her room and headed for the dining room. She hadn't eaten in a while, and hadn't been hungry the day before, so now she was starving. She found some leftover bread and rice with a delicious curry sauce. Happily, she fixed a plate and sat down to eat. She was going back for seconds when Chichiri walked in.

"Shan! So this is where you got to. Tasuki's been looking for you." Shan giggled. She could see Tasuki frantically searching for her while she was here all along, contentedly munching on leftovers. She could hear him calling for her now. She was actually looking forward to this.

"CHIRI! Have you seen Shan? I can't find her any…SHAN! Do you have ANY idea how worried I've been about you?" Shan hid a smile.

"I'm sorry Tasuki! I didn't know you would be so worried! I was just really hungry, and I only wanted to get something to eat. Sorry!"

Tasuki glared at her and then sighed. "Don't make such a fuss. I was just worried, that's all. I forgot that you would be hungry, and that you don't like staying in bed. I should be apologizing to you, not the other way around." He smiled at Shan. "So, now that you've finished eating, what do you want to do?"

"Sleep." Both Chichiri and Tasuki anime dropped, making Shan laugh. "I was only joking! Seriously, though, I'd like to play with Huan." Tasuki smiled at her and held out his hand, which she took as she stood up.

"Huan's outside with Kouji. Come on!" They found Kouji next to the river with Huan. Huan was splashing in the shallows, which were refreshing in the summer heat. Kouji had rolled up his pants and waded in after her, to make sure that she was alright. He looked up, saw that the two were still holding hands, and grinned, blurting out the idea that came to his mind.

"So, when's the wedding, or did Chichiri already take care of that for you guys?" Tasuki grinned back at him, deciding to make this a joke.

"Yep, he just married us!" Tasuki winked to let his friend know he was only playing. Shan and Chichiri, who had just come up, froze. There was silence for about three seconds and then….

Both Kouji and Tasuki doubled over laughing. Huan looked at the two like they were crazy, Chichiri had to chuckle a bit, and Shan just shook her head and looked over at Huan. Huan slowly climbed out of the river, getting the attention of all four adults. She held her arms out to Tasuki. "Dada!"

Tasuki choked up as he picked up Huan and she snuggled in his arms. She then turned to Shan. _Don't say it. Please don't say it!_ Shan's mental plea to Huan was ignored. "Mama!" Shan gasped, and the three men present looked from Huan to her.

Chichiri grinned at her. "You knew it was going to happen someday Shan. Why did you try to stop it? You are her mother, just as Tasuki is her father. There is no changing that." Tasuki looked at Chichiri in shock. To know about the bond between himself, Shan and Huan was one thing, but to hear it voiced by someone was entirely different. He walked over to Shan and handed Huan to her.

"You did say that you wanted to play with her." He grinned and then hugged both girls. "Would you be her mother, Shan, and my wife?" Shan looked into Tasuki's eyes and smiled.

"Oh Tasuki, do you even have to ask? Of course I will!"


	13. Chapter 13

For Your Love

By: Kristall

Chapter 13: Wedding Plans

The bandits were still celebrating a particularly good haul from that day as Shan rocked Huan, trying to get Huan to fall asleep. Huan was now just over a year old and had taken her first steps on her birthday. She was getting better every day at walking, which meant that in order to keep up with Huan's everlasting energy, Tasuki and Shan had to take turns watching her, with occasional help from one or two of the bandits when both Shan and Tasuki were worn out or, in Tasuki's case, busy with leadership matters.

Shan sighed in relief as she finally felt Huan go limp in her arms. She knew that it meant that Huan had actually fallen asleep and could now be put down. The noise from downstairs had kept Huan from falling asleep at her usual time. Shan moved over to the crib and set Huan down, gently pulling the covers up to the baby's chin. She straightened up and felt two strong arms go around her and a familiar head rest against her shoulder. She smiled. "You did this before, the day after I arrived."

"I know. Man, it's hard to believe that nearly a year has gone by since then. Just another month and it will be a year since you came." Tasuki turned her around and pulled her into a hug. "I can't imagine what life would have been like without you or Huan." The blunt statement brought a blush to Shan's cheeks as she looked up at Tasuki. She knew that it was the closest Tasuki would probably ever get to telling her just how much she and Huan meant to him.

"We should get some more planning done while Huan's asleep. You know how hard it is to get anything done when she's awake, even when we've got the guys watching her."

Tasuki chuckled. "That's an understatement." Shan glared at him and he waved his hands in a peace sign. "I surrender. I'll help you plan, but you know that of the two of us, you're the better planner."

"I know that. I just want you to be included." Tasuki grinned at her and then went to get the stack of papers that they had written down what they had so far.

"Let's see now. We've got most of the stuff for the actual ceremony arranged, and you said that your father was seeing to your outfit. So all we need is to figure out what I'll be wearing and the reception."

"Houki said that since the ceremony would be at the palace, she would take care of the reception. There was something about a feast in one of the banquet halls mentioned. And Chichiri offered to get your outfit together, but you'll go with him to be sure that you'll actually like and maybe even wear what's chosen."

Tasuki smirked at her choice of words. "You mean that if I don't like what's chosen I could come with nothing on?"

Shan blushed bright red as she realized what she had implied. "I swear the thought did not cross my mind. I was just thinking that if you didn't like what had been chosen, you would show up in your usual bandit garb."

"So basically, we have everything under control." Shan nodded. "Good. So we can do other things now."

"Like what?"

"Like this." He pulled her into his lap and was just about to kiss her when Kouji burst in through the door, without his usual speech.

"Hey boss, are you guys coming down at all? The guys were about to break out the best sake without you!"

"They WHAT?" Kouji felt a rush of wind go past him as Tasuki used his seishi power to get to the dining hall before the bandits drank all of the sake. Kouji grinned at his boss' antics, while Shan shook her head.

"Shall we?" Kouji held his hand out to Shan, which she grasped and allowed Koui to lead her to the dining hall, even though she could walk there blindfolded by now. Shan was touched by the gesture. She knew that Kouji still felt bad about what he had done to her the day they met. Little gestures like these were his way of saying sorry.

"You know Kouji, you don't have to keep on apologizing." She stopped just outside of the door to the dining hall. Kouji stopped next to her.

"For what?"

"You know, what happened when we met."

Understanding shone in Kouji's eyes. "Oh. You think that I'm apologizing for that. Sorry, but you're off. Way off." Shan looked puzzled, until Kouji looked at her directly in the eye. She gasped.

"Kouji! You mean that…you stepped aside? For Tasuki?"

"No. I stepped aside for you." He looked away. "I knew that it wasn't me that you loved. And I didn't want to fight my best friend and soul brother. But now you know how I feel." He looked up at her. "I do love you, and at one time I did want you." He smiled sadly. "But now I can say that you are as close to me as Genrou is. You're like my little sister. I want you to be happy." Kouji gathered her into his arms for a hug just as Tasuki stepped into the hall. He stopped short at the sight in front of him.

"What's this about?" Tasuki's voice was confused and hurt. Kouji and Shan fell apart, startled. Kouji looked slightly guilty, but Shan smiled at Tasuki, which threw him off even more. Hadn't he just seen them hugging like they were lovers? Why would she smile at him after that?

"Tasuki, I know what you're thinking. Kouji was just letting me know that he wants to be a big brother to me, like he is to you."

Tasuki smiled then. He knew that Kouji had had feelings for Shan since she had come, and apparently Kouji had just told her about them. Kouji had also apparently made it clear that he would not stand between Shan and Tasuki if it would make Shan happy. In other words, Kouji loved both of them enough that he would do anything to make them happy. He clapped Kouji on the back. "Come on, the boys want to try to beat us in a drinking game."

Kouji laughed. "We'll show them. They can't possibly hope to out-drink us." Grinning, the two went into the hall. Shan just sighed and went in after them. If the guys were going to have drinking games, she might as well just get a plate of food and take it back upstairs. There were a few more details for her dress that she wanted to talk over with her father, and she knew that she needed to see how it would fit. True her father could magically alter it to fit perfectly in the end, but she wanted to be involved in designing the dress.

She finished filling her plate and headed for the door. Chichiri met her on his way out to find a quiet spot to meditate. "Chiri, does such a place exist here?"

Chichiri grinned. "Good point. I'll probably wind up either by the river, or on a ledge a little ways down the cliff to the west of here." Shan laughed and wished him a good night before going to her room to meet her father, and have dinner. She entered her room to find Suzaku standing watch by Huan's crib and smiled. Suzaku turned to her and she saw the pleased look in his eyes.

"How are your brothers doing, Father?" Shan sat down and gestured to another chair as an offer to sit down. Suzaku declined with a slight shake of his head.

"They are being their usual selves, and they were most astonished to find out about your upcoming wedding. They also send their best wishes."

"Really?" Shan's tone indicated that she wasn't sure if the last was fact or Suzaku making his brothers sound polite. Suzaku chuckled.

"Actually, this time it is true. I rather suspect that Taiitsukun had a word with them, but they have all been much nicer lately when asking about you."

"Please take my greetings to them when you return. Now then, what have you done for the dress?"

"Well, we started off with the traditional bridal dress. We've agreed to make the sleeves out of gauze and to have them wide like the sleeves of a royal robe. We also decided on the traditional phoenix design as the decoration, along with the traditional headdress in the shape of a phoenix." As he spoke, the garments described replaced the ones Shan was wearing so that she could see what it would look like. Shan looked in the mirror and frowned just a bit. "What don't you like?"

"The headdress." Shan was eyeing it critically in the mirror. "I would love to be able to have my hair somewhat loose, not rolled into a tight bun on the top of my head and covered up. Would it be possible to make it more of a tiara than a headdress?"

Suzaku thought for a moment and then waved his hand over Shan's head. The headdress was replaced by a delicate tiara, still in the shape of a phoenix, which circled around her head. Her hair was gathered through the circlet so that it was kept up, but then tumbled down her back in ringlets, ending just at her waist.

Shan smiled, pleased with the look. "I think we've got it!" She beamed over at her father, who was smiling as well. "Thank you, Father."

"I need to get going now, but I will be watching your wedding." Suzaku then vanished from sight and Shan yawned before setting her plate on the table next to her bed. She would take it back downstairs the next morning.


	14. Chapter 14

For Your Love

By: Kristall

Chapter 14: Preparations

Tasuki held Shan close as they rode to the palace. The stronghold had been shut up and locked tight, and now every single Mt. Reikaku bandit was riding with Tasuki, Shan, and Huan to the palace to witness their boss's wedding. They were also on strict orders that there would be no raiding, stealing, or plundering on the trip. Fighting was also banned, unless they were attacked. The bandits knew that they were coming as the heroes who had decided to join the Konan forces in the war with Kuto, not as bandits, and were expected to behave as such.

The group reached the palace without incident, and soon they were all settled. Huan was thrilled with all of the new things to explore, and was assigned a maid to accompany her as she wandered around the palace. Shan and Tasuki were kept apart the day following their arrival, since the next day they would be married. Chichiri and Tasuki spent the day with the royal tailors, making final adjustments to Tasuki's outfit, followed by a guy's night in the wing that had been set aside for the bandits to stay in.

Meanwhile, Shan was going over the final details with Houki. The hall they would be married in was covered in Shan's favorite flowers: red, white, peach, and pink roses, as well as Stargazer lilies. The kitchen staff was already making the last preparations needed before the cooking began the next day. Guests had been arriving for nearly a week, since it was one of the Suzaku seishi who was getting married. People wondered about the bride-to-be, asking where Tasuki had met her, so the story had been given out that he had known her for a long time before he had taken up his duties as a seishi and that they had been betrothed when they were mere children. It satisfied most of the questions and for the ones who asked why they hadn't married before, it was said that Shan's parents had died shortly after, and that Tasuki only found out about it on a recent visit to his old village, during which he also met up with Shan again after several years of separation. This explanation, while long, took care of the rest of the questions.

Houki finally set down her long list of things that needed to be done and sighed. "The only remaining thing is what you will wear tomorrow. Nothing has arrived for you yet."

Shan smiled at Houki. "That's because my father is taking care of my dress. He will deliver it tomorrow before the maids arrive. The story will be that it was delivered in the middle of the night, and my father will even send an illusion to make a "delivery" after the moon starts to go down." She grinned in a conspiratorial way at Houki, who grinned back. Houki was one of the few who knew the truth about who Shan really was.

"In that case, it's time to start your party!" Shan laughed and let herself be pulled towards the wing of the palace that was as far away from where the bandits were staying as possible. They all, however, went to bed early so that they could wake up in time to get ready for the wedding ceremony the next day.

Shan woke as the first rays of light appeared over the distant horizon. It was still dark in the palace grounds, and would be until the sun rose high enough to clear the walls. Shan got out of bed and walked over to the window. Looking out over the gardens, she breathed in the crisp, cool air and released it with a sigh. Then she turned and went into the adjacent bathing chamber where servants were just finishing setting up her bath. She climbed into the small pool and dove under the water. She then allowed a maid to soap her hair, while another scrubbed her back. She then rinsed herself off by diving under the water yet again. She then spent time just floating in the water on her back, allowing her mind to clear itself and prepare for the ceremony that would take place just before the midday meal.

While she floated, the maids noticed a red light approaching. They squealed in fright and backed away from the pool, fearfully watching to see what would happen. Houki came running in, obviously having heard the squeals, and gracefully fell to her knees as she recognized Suzaku. The terrified maids did the same. Suzaku, however, paid no attention to them. "Shan Feng." His voice was low, melodic, but enough to call Shan's full attention to him.

"My lord Suzaku." Shan bowed her head to the god who had created her. She would have bowed completely, but that would have put her underwater. She stood, the water coming to her hips, and waited for Suzaku to speak.

"I have come to give you my personal blessing with regards to your marriage. May you and Tasuki have many years and much happiness together. I also have a request to make of you." Shan's eyes widened, but she nodded. "My request is simply this: when he or she is twelve, your firstborn child is to be sent to Taiitsukun for a year for training. The area in which your child will be trained will depend on what they want to do in life, but they are to be trained."

Shan's eyebrow lifted and a small mischievous smile spread across her lips. "What if the child wants to be a bandit or some other unsuitable calling? What would be done then?" Her tone and smile told Suzaku she was only teasing him.

"I'm sure we could find something suitable to train your child in. But do you agree?"

Shan openly smiled. "Of course I do! This is a tremendous honor! But one question." Here, Shan's voice took on a hopeful note. "Could this honor be extended to all of my children, instead of just the firstborn?"

Suzaku was silent a moment, and then a small note appeared in the air before them. He grabbed it and read it. "Taiitsukun says yes, and that she told me so." Shan looked up in surprise at that, but smiled happily.

"Thank you so much, for everything." She put her hands together, palms touching, and bowed to him. He smiled and was gone.

"My Lady! It is time to prepare for the ceremony!" Shan turned to see Houki calling her over to where two maids stood waiting with a towel. She went over and was wrapped in the fluffy cloth. Then she went into her room, where she was assisted into her dress and then her makeup was done. Finally, Houki herself helped Shan with her hair. Stepping back, she exclaimed, "Oh, how beautiful you look!"

Shan smiled at her. "I can't believe this is really happening, and yet it is!" Shan took one more look in the mirror, and then they all turned and left the room. Houki led the way through the corridors until they stopped outside of a large double door. Then, a gong sounded, and the doors slowly opened.

Kristall: Almost there! If anyone went back to finish this, let me know, k?


	15. Chapter 15

For Your Love

By: Kristall

Chapter 15: New Beginnings

Tasuki jumped a little when the gong sounded. The hall was filled with people; visiting dignitaries from the other three countries, nobility, and even townspeople from the capital, as well as the Reikaku bandits. Chichiri and Kouji were standing next to him and both grinned when they saw him jump. Neither one had thought that Tasuki would ever get married, and they just knew that Tasuki was sweating bullets at this point. Then the doors creaked open.

The entire hall let out a sigh of admiration as Shan came into view. Kouji looked over at Tasuki and had to bite his tongue to keep from bursting out into laughter at the look on Tasuki's face. Chichiri was thinking to himself that Shan had never looked more beautiful in the entire time he had known her. It wasn't just her dress, or hair, or makeup, or even all of those put together. It was the pure love and happiness that shone from her face that had transformed her so much. He also looked over at Tasuki, and smiled at what he saw.

Tasuki was staring at Shan as if he had never seen her before. He drank in the sight of her, from her hair pulled through the circlet to the rippling movement of her dress as she walked along. She was escorted by one of the royal advisors, since her own father wasn't there to do so. But the thing that stole Tasuki's breath away was how happy she looked as she came towards him. In that moment, he fell in love with her all over again.

Chichiri smiled to himself as he watched the stars come out. The reception party was still going on, and he had slipped out to get a breath of fresh air. He was glad for Tasuki and Shan, but...this made him think of the wedding he had never had. He bowed his head and his mask fell off as he thought about his fiancé, how he had felt whenever she walked into the room, how betrayed he had felt when she had said that they could never be together…

"Are you alright?" Chichiri looked up to see a young girl looking at him. She smiled at him. "I'm sorry if I disrupted you, but it looked like you were feeling sad. What's wrong?"

"I'm just remembering something from my past. It's nothing." The girl's face turned serious.

"I called you three times before asking if you were alright, and you didn't answer. Don't tell me that whatever is bothering you is 'nothing' when it so obviously affects you."

"It's not something you would understand."

"You think age has anything to do with understanding heartbreak?" Chichiri looked at her in surprise. "True, I may only be five, but I've gone through a lot for someone my age." She took a deep breath. "And there are times when I think I am remembering something from a past life."

Chichiri turned around and sat down to get to her level. "Why do you say that?"

"Because when these times happen, I see things as if I were taller, like I can look down at a table, instead of it being level with my head."

Chichiri nodded. "That makes sense. So what do you see in these memories?"

"I keep on seeing two men, one of whom looks a lot like you, only with two eyes. And I feel things too. At first, I feel great happiness when I see the two men. Then, I'm alone with the one who doesn't look like you, and I feel both surprise and shock. Then it flashes to where I am telling the one who looks like you something. I cry in that one, and feel very sad and ashamed of myself. Finally, I am sitting on a bank overhanging a river, still very sad and ashamed, when suddenly the ground beneath me falls away. That's how it always happens; always in that order and I can never change the events."

Chichiri was staring at her in shock. What she had just described was exactly what had happened between himself, his fiancé, and Hiko. The girl looked at him nervously. "What is it?"

"You just told me snapshots of the darkest time of my life, as my former fiancé would have seen them." The girl gasped, but Chichiri went on. "Tell me, what is your name?"

"Kouran."

Chichiri was silent for a moment. The coincidences between this girl and his fiancé were too many to be pure coincidence. "Where are your parents?"

"They're dead, along with my sister and three older brothers. They were washed away during the flooding three years ago, when the Suzaku no Miko appeared." Chichiri swallowed at yet another coincidence. "I would have drowned too, but my father grabbed me in the river and was able to throw me to a person on shore right before he was swept away. I was taken to the palace and given a place as a royal ward. When the emperor died, the empress was kind enough to make sure that I stayed. Why?"

"I was just curious. How do you keep on going?"

"Because I knew that my daddy loved me. I wish that he hadn't drowned when he saved me, and I know that if he hadn't saved me he would probably have made it himself. Still the empress once told me something that I think about every time I feel sad. She said that either I could blame myself for something I had no real control over, or I could go on and make my family proud as they watched from heaven. So each day, I try to make the ones who loved me proud of me."

Chichiri smiled at her. "I am sure that your family is very proud of you right now, Kouran. And you've given me something to help with the sad times."

"I know." Chichiri blinked. The voice coming from the girl was different. Suddenly it was _his_ Kouran's voice. "That's why I had her tell it to you. And I want you to know that I still love you." Chichiri bowed his head in thanks as he realized what was going on. The Kouran he had lost had been given a chance to say goodbye to him, and to finally free him from the past.

"You ok?" Chichiri looked up to find the little girl looking curiously at him. She had spoken with her voice.

"I'm fine." He smiled at her as Houki called to her from the doorway. "Go on, it's getting late."

"Ok! Bye!" And with that, she was running to Houki so that she could go to bed. Chichiri sighed and jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder.

"Shan!" She smiled at him.

"Father felt it would be best to let her have a word with you." Her hand fell back to her side. "Tasuki and I are finally going to bed, so I came to wish you goodnight."

"Goodnight, Shan." Chichiri said a small prayer of thanks to Suzaku, and then went to find his own bed.

~two years later~

Tasuki was kicking back a bottle of sake when he heard footsteps enter the dining hall. He looked over to see that Chichiri had walked in along with Kouji and two other bandits. He drained the rest of the bottle and stood up to greet his friend.

"I teleported here as soon as I got your message. How's Shan doing?"

"The girls keep on telling me that she's doing fine, but I'm worried. Shan was screaming so loudly and crying. It's not like her to cry." He gestured to the two empty sake bottles on the table. "I've been trying to calm down, but I'm so anxious it's keeping me sober."

"Tasuki, the screaming and crying are a part of childbirth. Once the child is born, it'll stop." Just then they all heard a very loud cry from Shan, and Tasuki bolted for the door and ran up the stairs with Kouji and Chichiri hot on his heels. They came to a stop outside of Tasuki's room in time to catch one of the midwife's attendants as she came out.

"Oh, there you are. I was just coming to get you."

"Is Shan ok?"

"She's fine." The door cracked open, and another girl whispered something to the first. "You can come in as soon as we get Shan settled."

"And how's the baby?"

"Fine, but I don't know if it's a boy or girl." Then the door opened to reveal the midwife. "You can come in now."

Tasuki hurried to Shan's side as she smiled at him. She knew that he had been worried about her for the entire labor. "We have a son."

"A son?" Shan nodded and giggled as she showed Tasuki the small bundle in her arms. "Shan you are the most wonderful woman in the world." Shan laughed and then carefully hugged Tasuki. Then her eyelids closed and she fell asleep.

"Is this normal?" Tasuki's voice was panicked again, and the midwife bit back a chuckle.

"Extremely normal. They don't call childbirth labor for nothing." She handed Tasuki a small package of herbs. "Give her a pinch of these in water or weak tea twice a day. It'll help her body heal from the childbirth, and help her nurse well. She should be fine, but if you need anything, just let me know." Then the midwife and her two assistants bowed and left. Tasuki picked up his infant son and held him close as Huan came running in.

"Can I see? Can I see?"

"Shhh. Yes you can see him, but Mama's sleeping right now."

"Oops, sorry." Huan climbed onto the bed as Tasuki sat down. "He's so cute. Does he do anything?"

Tasuki chuckled. "Maybe not a whole lot for now, but he'll do more when he gets older."

"Oh. Ok." Huan hopped off the bed. "I'm going to make a drawing for Mama for when she wakes up." With that, Huan ran out of the room. Soon, Kouji left to organize the next day's raid, leaving Tasuki and Chichiri together.

"He's got my hair, Chiri." Tasuki looked up at his friend, pride on his face. "I never thought I'd be this happy."

"Me too, you know." Chichiri took off his mask. "You know that girl I was telling you about the last time I was here?" Tasuki nodded. "I asked her to marry me last week. We're planning on getting married in six months."

"That's great news Chiri!"

"You, Shan, Huan, and your son are all invited to come, you know."

"We'll be there." Tasuki looked down at his son again, and then to Shan who was still asleep. Chichiri grinned and left the room. Tasuki laid his son down in the crib and climbed into bed with Shan. He held her, thinking that life didn't get much better than this, until he too fell asleep.

The End

Kristall: The last chapter! For those of you who came back to finish this, please forgive me for not finishing this sooner! For those who have just discovered it, I hope you enjoyed it!


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